Mandatory Sunset at Phnom Bakhang
…lunch at Sampheap Restaurant. Tried chicken curry and coconut, fish soup (sour) water convulvus, grilled fish and rice.
Then home for siesta before setting off for “grand circuit” temples.
Drove past Prasat Kravan and on past Banteay Kdei and Srah Srang before stopping at Pre Rup.
Also stopped to glance around East Mebon.
Ignored Tra Som but took in Preah Neak Poan and Preah Khan.
Did the mandatory Phnom Bakheng routine at sunset – Daisy going all the way to the top of the temple. Ged staying at the top of the mountain but not the temple.
Went round afterwards to sort out currency and try to get “passes” for tomorrow’s adventure – no joy.
The tale of our setting up of the 7 February adventure is rather strange one, but it says much about the prevailing issues and culture in Cambodia still in 2001.
Janie and I had identified, from a magazine article, a fascinating-looking day trip out of Siem Reap, which looked far more interesting to us than “yet another day looking at temples”. We discussed it with our Steppes East agent, who had alerted the local agent that we might want to do that, depending on the extent to which we were “templed out” after our first couple of days. Some people feel the need to take it easy the first two days and are grateful for more time around Siem Reap itself.
I knew that I would need to pay a supplement locally if we chose the extra excursion, of course.
Our local guide, Khouch, seemed almost distraught at the suggestion that he call his office in Phnom Penh and arrange the trip for us. He explained that it was somewhat off piste, so we would need to engage a local qualified guide when we got there. We knew that. Khouch explained that such journeys were hard on the vehicle, so the price for the extra road journey would be high. We knew that.
It became clear to us that, in Khouch’s mind, our request to vary the itinerary was a form of complaint about the arrangements we had pre-made, which it absolutely wasn’t. We had considered varying the arrangements in advance and been advised to vary them when we got to Cambodia for practical reasons.
We virtually had to drag him to the phone to call the office and have me agree to the “staggering” day trip fee (I think it was $150 or something like that for the two of us) with Khouch’s boss.
We got there in the end, but even at the end of our trip the head of the agency came to see us because he had been alerted by Khouch that we were unhappy about something…which we weren’t.
The agency head explained to us that young men like Khouch, who had been brought up in the time of terror, are very reluctant to take initiative and are very nervous that they might fall foul of authority, even in benign circumstances like ours.
I mean, could I possibly come across as THAT scary?
WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YES! 😡
I describe the 7 February day trip and the visit from the head of the agency 10 February in the piece I wrote up several years ago, linked here and below.
Dinner in hotel again very good.
The pictures from those first few days in and around Siem Reap can be found through this Flickr link – here or below:
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